Through ten wonderful years Griff Diamond and Clint Bishop weathered good times and bad together. Lately they haven’t spent as much time together as they’d like, and their physical relationship is suffering. Then Clint loses his job at the steel mill. Instead of worrying, he sees it as an opportunity to lean on his steady partner, start his writing career, and rekindle the passion they’ve lost.

But a friendly relationship with another author turns to obsession, putting Clint’s life in danger. Taken against his will to the Jewel Cave system in South Dakota, Clint must rely on the skills he’s learned from Griff to survive.

Fearing the worst, Griff tracks Clint across the country. As a US Marshall, Griff’s always been the man who keeps everyone safe, but he doesn’t know how he and Clint will survive this.

Clint nearly jumped out of his skin when someone’s strong arm snaked around his waist and pulled him back against a firm body. Warm breath blew in his ear along with the words, “You left the door unlocked again. I could be the neighborhood whack job here to bludgeon you to death after defiling you.”

“You scared the crap out of me!” Clint yelped, trying to squirm away, but it was useless. “You’re the guy on this street with all the big guns.” Behind him Griff chuckled and used one finger to move Clint’s hair away from his neck. He pressed a soft kiss to the spot. Clint glared down at the dogs. “And you two! You need watchdog lessons.”

Griff let go of Clint, turned him, and shook him by the shoulders for a second. “Lock the goddamn doors. Even if someone smashes through the storm door, you’ll at least hear them.” He raised his eyebrows and leaned away from Clint, letting him go. “For me. Please.”

“What you really don’t want is some moron busting up the storm door since you’d have to help me replace it,” Clint muttered.

Griff pointed up. “Hey, I happen to have a deep appreciation for that door. Notice I’m tactfully not mentioning how delightful you are when you work on a construction project?” Clint burst out laughing. Griff’s blue-gray eyes twinkled, and the corners crinkled in the way Clint loved when Griff smiled. “Sorry I’m late,” Griff said, leaning down to pet the dogs.

I came here to escape. Leave the debris and avoid the inevitable truths.

Things are better.

Worse.

Different.

I’m finding me, but in the process I fear I’m forgetting those I have left, and the ones who have left me. Maybe I’m losing who I was.

Can I forget my past and move forward?

Can I forget him?

Excerpt

My eyes fly open and my mind feels alert. Normally nightmares wake me up like this, but this time, nothing is haunting me.

I look around the dark living room, feeling my heart race, and then realize what woke me up. A loud train of curses followed by a whine and a scratching at the door makes my heart squeeze. I sit up slightly, my eyes and ears desperately seeking the night for the confirmation that I’m not

dreaming. A scraping against the lock sends my heart rate to unhealthy levels as my eyes widen and my muscles tense. When I hear the key turn, I drop back to the couch, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to bury my face in my pillow, behind a wall of my hair as I try to make my breathing sound normal.

I can tell when the door is opened by the click of Zeus’s nails against the hardwood floors growing closer to me. His voice is hushed as he calls out to Zeus, making my entire body pulse with familiarity and nerves. Zeus’s heavy breathing grows until he places his front paws on the couch in front of me and begins bathing me in heavy kisses. There’s no way to try and pretend I’m sleeping through this. I’ll drown first. Plus my need to see him is outweighing my fears.

I sit up and wipe a hand down my face while searching the dark living room for him as Zeus pushes closer to me, whimpering with anticipation and what can only be described as unleashed excitement.

Then he appears in front of the coffee table. It’s too dark to make out much of him, but every fiber of my being feels some sort of response, verifying that it’s him. Elation and fear, mixed with rage and jealousy, are topped with curiosity and pain. It’s a confounding and stifling overabundance of emotions that has my eyes staring wide at him, soaking up every last detail that I can manage in the dim light while Zeus works to climb higher on the couch, hovering over me.

Max stares back at me and although it’s too dark to see the blueness of his eyes, I can see the fierceness in them. He looks pissed. No relief, no happiness like Zeus, just anger.

“Zeus,” he calls again in a tone I’ve rarely heard.

“It’s alright. He can stay.” Thankfully my voice barely comes out above a whisper because my emotions are shooting through me like vinegar when it meets baking soda—unsteady.

He stares at me, and like a geyser, unspoken words flood my mind. “Hey, Max.”

He must be just as shocked as I am that I was able to speak those words because as soon as his name leaves my lips, he turns and ascends the stairs without responding. His bedroom door slams and then silence rings in my ears.

I catch a movement out of the corner of my eye

and turn to see Landon in the hallway, running a hand over his jaw, wearing only a pair of gym shorts. His head turns from the stairs to me, and then he silently walks to the couch.

“He’s …”

“It’s okay,” I say when the rest of his words don’t seem to find their way out. “This is his house too.”

“He’s not mad at you.”

I turn to look at him in obvious disbelief. Anyone would have been able to see that Max was mad at me. His reaction wasn’t shocking exactly. Max lost one of his best friends, just like I had. There have been days that I have felt really angry over the whole situation too. Angry that I didn’t know how to communicate my feelings, and angry about the way he dealt with my insecurities. I still struggle with being angry over removing myself and moving to Delaware because I thought it would be the right decision for me.

Kitty and I have discussed my tendency to run from awkward situations; she’s the one who provided me with the new term “remove myself from.” It sounds a lot better than fleeing, but I had fled, and I know it. I can give a hundred reasons why for each time too, rationalizing each situation until I’m nearly positive it was the right decision—but I can never make it to one hundred percent. That small bubble of resistance and doubt always prevents me from being able to allow the memories to finally be discarded, and then it begins spreading, eating the conviction one doubt at a time.

About The Author

Mariah Dietz lives in Eastern Washington with her husband and two sons that are the axis of her crazy and wonderful world.

Mariah grew up in a tiny town outside of Portland, Oregon where she spent the majority of her time immersed in the pages of books that she both read and created.

She has a love for all things that include her sons,

good coffee, books, travel, and dark chocolate. She also has a deep passion for the stories she writes, and hopes readers enjoy the journeys she takes them on, as much as she loves creating them.

Emersyn Vallis is a first time author with Adjournment being the first book in the Fated Series. Currently residing on the east coast with her husband and three children she is typically mistaken for being quiet and reserved her friends often describe her as a spastic spider monkey and always the first to be there with her quick wit to pull you back up when you’re feeling down. After reading as a hobby for most of her life it wasn’t until she had discovered R. L. Mathewson’s ‘Neighbor from Hell Series’ and Tara Sivec’s ‘Playing with Fire Series’ that she came up with the idea to fuse comedy and suspense together and her passion for writing was born.

Emersyn Vallis is definitely an Author I will be watching for and can't wait to read more from her. ~ Swoon Worthy Books

Emersyn has done it again. I liked Adjournment but I loved Hanging Pawns and I for one can not wait for book three in the Fate series. Emersyn is fastly becomming my favourite indie author. ~ Amazon Customer

Emersyn Vallis has done a wonderful job on the Fate Series. Adjournment, Hanging Pawns, and now Sacrifice are definitely in my definite recommend list, and re-read list for 2014/2015 ~ Amazon Customer

Forbidden love between a stepbrother and a stepsister. Told from the male point of view. 18+ due to sex scenes and language.

She had me at the word ‘Run’.

I first met my stepsister, Abigail Dorset at a wedding – my father had left my mom and married hers; I went there expecting to hate her.

Instead, I found something much worse…I found my soul mate. It was in the form of a girl who looked just like Snow White, and just like in the fairy tale, there was a wicked stepmother who would do everything in her power to keep control over her daughter’s destiny. Being a Dorset meant you have to marry into the right gene pool and appear to be of the highest moral code. Abigail’s life was mapped out the day she was born. I was seen as bump in the road – a deviant boy who needed to be avoided at all costs. So my stepmother kept us apart…or so she thought…

From the moment we met, Abigail and I knew there was something – some invisible force that makes two people want the one thing they can’t have. But we wanted it anyway. Over the years, we would fight and lie, sneak and hide – we’d hurt those around us in our need to be together in whatever way we could.

But most of all, we’d hurt each other and we’d hurt ourselves, all in a bid to figure it out and find a way to finally be together because every day we spend apart feels like dying.

A life with love is magical. Without it, living is torture.

Follow Sebastian Hawke and Abigail Dorset as they embark of a journey of love and devotion, kept secret, spanning years. Watch, as it drives them together and tears them apart before bringing them together again, older and wiser, ready to find a way – to do whatever it takes – because being apart from the one person you were born to love, isn’t an option.

Buy The Book

Excerpt

Standing on the edge of the pool, I roll my shoulders and twist at the waist, loosening up before leaning forward and diving. The cool wet surrounds my body as I jet through it, rising to the surface and dragging my body through the water, lap after lap up and down, quieting my mind that never seems to stop thinking, harassing me with the voices of doubt and negativity, all telling me I’m worthless and I don’t belong. They tell me I’m a deviant. And maybe I am...

I’m not who they think I am. I’m not what they think I am. They don’t even know me.

As I swim, I try not to think about my dad and his lack of caring – his lack of confidence in me. I try not to think of the life we had before he traded in happiness for material possessions.

Faster and faster I swim, my arms and legs, churning through the water as my chest heaves with the effort. I focus on the ache of my body. The breath as I hold it in my chest. It’s always so much harder to be calm here. I don't know why he preferred this, even with all the stuff around; it's the loneliest place I’ve ever been to. And in the quiet, my mind wins.

Reaching the end of another lap, I roll my body to change directions and rocket off the side of the pool, propelling myself under the water. Just as I'm about to rise to the surface, a vision appears beneath me. It all

happens so fast that it takes a while before my brain catches up with what’s happening, and I swear I’m seeing things. But then a pair of lips press against mine, shocking me into reality as I’m faced with a set of amused blue eyes. I jerk backwards in surprise and plant my feet, standing up in the center of the pool. My chest heaves from exertion and surprise as I wipe my hand over my face and watch as Abi emerges from the water like the lady of the lake, so fucking stunning as she rises from the water, water pouring from her body, running between her round breasts that are covered with only the smallest pieces of blue fabric. My fucking cock twitches and the word ‘deviant’ flashes in my mind as I force myself to look away and keep my hands by my sides, when all I really want to do is grab her by that dark hair and kiss that giant smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" I ask immediately, using aggression to cover what I’m really thinking. “You’re never here at the same time as me.”

She shrugs and pulls her long hair over her shoulder, wringing out the water. It runs down her breast and my eyes follow the stream. Did I just growl?

"School's out, and I’m not doing summer courses when this is the last summer before college. I want to have a bit of fun for a change. But it’s nice to see you too. It's only been four years, brother."

My brow furrows. "Don't kiss me then call me brother."

She grins. "Why? It's not like I stuck the tongue in." She uses her hand to nudge me playfully in the chest and I catch her by the wrist, holding her hand against me as I look into her eyes while mine burn with a long held desire.

“Because right now, I’m not feeling very brotherly toward you.”

Her mouth drops open and she lets out a tiny gasp. It’s so fucking sexy that I immediately picture her doing that with my face buried between her thighs. My thumb slides up and down her wrist as her hand presses against my chest, able to feel the increasing rhythm of my heart and the rise and fall of my rapid breathing. Slowly, my eyes absorb the sight of her; taking in the changes of her face, her curves, her hair… I get that same tightening in my guts that I did when I first met her. Time hasn’t lessened my reaction to having her in front of me. But now that I'm older, I know exactly what it is. And I know it's not the way I should be feeling around my stepsister.

Deviant…

My eyes drop to her mouth and the most powerful urge to grab her and bite those plump lips of hers, assaults my mind, and I have to release her hand and look away to force it out of my mind or I’m going to lose control and do just that.

Eve Cates is a twenty-something author of contemporary erotic romance. She loves all things naughty, demanding men and difficult situations (pass the popcorn please). Her first series, StepSister Devotion, will be told in four parts, releasing via Kindle Unlimited.

Eve has loved writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and penned a note to her imaginary friend 'Pok'. Accused of being a 'dreamer' as she grew, she's taken that notion and turned her daydreams into stories to delight and satisfy her readers.

When she isn't writing, you'll find her at home with her husband, four children, and two dogs.

Jett Vaughn has one thing on his mind these days - Presley Hart. He will do anything it takes to make her his. At least, he thinks he will.

Presley Hart wants one thing in life - a man who will make her his number one. After being married to a man who never put her first, she swore she'd never settle for second best again. At least, she thought she wouldn't.

When Jett's life comes crashing down around him, his flaws are laid bare for all to see. Presley stands by her man but there's only so much she can do to help him. She loves him and wants to be with him but she has her limits and Jett's about to reach them.

In the midst of hurt, loss and destruction, can love win out? Can a man who is struggling to find his way, show the woman he loves just how much he wants her to be the one? Or is there only so much a heart can take before enough's enough?

Rockstar, Jett Vaughn, isn’t against settling down, but no woman has ever held his attention long enough for a relationship to develop. That is until he meets Presley Hart. She’s confident, opinionated and headstrong. She drives him to the edge of crazy, but he can’t deny how she makes him feel.

He wants her heart, but she only wants his body.

Presley’s not against giving her heart to a man, but she has too many reasons why he’s not the one to give it to. Jett isn’t a man who will take no for an answer though. He’s about to declare war on her reasons and take what he wants.